What if April 15 was just another day at your CPA firm?

After years of overwhelming tax seasons, too many clients, and inefficient processes, Brenda Cannon decided something had to change. At one point, 105 clients submitted their tax documents on the same day, leaving her firm buried in work and Brenda questioning how much longer she could keep doing things the same way.

Brenda joins Yuri Kapilovich on The Fun CPA Podcast to share how she completely changed the way her firm operated. From letting go of roughly 500 clients and raising fees to implementing a tax preparation scheduling system, she found a way to make tax season manageable without sacrificing her weekends.

They also get into choosing the right practice management software, setting boundaries with clients, and the lessons Brenda learned when she eventually sold her firm after 15 years of ownership.

For firm owners who feel like they're constantly playing catch-up, Brenda's experience offers a different way to think about running a CPA practice.

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - Intro

1:08 - Meet Brenda Cannon

2:21 - The breaking point that changed everything

5:32 - Lessons from building a firm to 1,500 clients

8:26 - Raising fees and letting go of 500 clients

11:51 - How to identify clients who aren't a good fit

17:24 - How scheduling tax prep transformed tax season

19:33 - Choosing the right practice management software

23:35 - Getting clients to submit documents on time

27:45 - Making tax preparation scheduling work

34:40 - Scheduling business and individual returns

37:35 - Lessons from selling a CPA firm

42:26 - What makes a firm more valuable to buyers

45:05 - Life after selling the firm

51:35 - Episode wrap-up

ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH

Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.

Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.

CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/

Website: https://thefuncpa.beehiiv.com/

CONNECT WITH BRENDA CANNON

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-cannon-cpa-223a10273/

Website: https://bcannoncpa.com/

AI isn’t a tool. It’s a lifestyle.

Jan Haugo, AI architect and founder of SmartAccountant.ai, joins Yuri to break down how accountants can start using AI safely and practically, without getting lost in the hype.

Jan shares her path from earning her accounting degree as a single mom to running a cloud-based CAS practice long before the cloud was the norm, and how she kept client relationships strong while taking her firm virtual.

They dig into Jan’s green, yellow, red method for deciding what data is safe to put into AI, the difference between free, paid, and enterprise tools like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, and what SOC 2 compliance really tells you about a vendor. Jan also walks through her RCRQ prompting framework and how to keep AI from simply telling you what you want to hear.

The conversation also explores why firms should build AI workflows instead of asking one-off questions, how recording yourself can turn into ready-made SOPs, why solo firms may benefit from AI the most, and where the accounting profession is headed as transactional work disappears.

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - Why AI is the hottest topic in accounting

1:33 - Meet Jan Haugo

2:16 - Earning an accounting degree as a single mom

3:01 - Leaving a CPA firm to start her own practice

4:41 - What sparked Jan’s interest in technology

6:54 - Growing to 150 clients with a five-person team

8:12 - Going cloud-based before it was popular

9:42 - Keeping client relationships during a virtual transition

11:18 - How to start using AI if you’ve been afraid of it

14:16 - AI security concerns for accountants

15:11 - The green, yellow, red method for client data

17:37 - Free vs. paid AI and staying inside the enterprise bubble

20:05 - What SOC 2 compliance really means

24:18 - What firm owners get wrong about AI

26:38 - The RCRQ prompting framework

30:14 - How to stop AI from telling you what you want to hear

33:51 - Building AI workflows instead of one-off questions

35:31 - Deciding if a task is for AI or your “OG brain”

38:53 - Inside Jan’s WorkflowCon sessions

41:31 - Recording yourself to create SOPs

45:23 - Why a firm of one still needs SOPs

48:42 - Using AI to run a lifestyle firm

51:25 - Deciding whether to buy or build AI tools

54:33 - How to vet AI vendors and products

56:54 - The future of the accounting profession

1:01:22 - Where to connect with Jan

1:03:17 - Jan’s “Read Anything in 10 Minutes” custom GPT

1:04:33 - Closing thoughts

SPONSOR

Today's episode sponsor is Financial Cents bringing you an amazing 2 day free online CPE event. Sign up here:

https://workflowcon.com/?utm_campaign=28894380-WorkflowCon%202026&utm_source=TheFunCPA-YuriKapilovich&utm_medium=social

ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH

Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.

Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.

CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/

Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/

CONNECT WITH JAN HAUGO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janhaugo/

Website: https://www.smartaccountant.ai/

The right tech stack can help a small firm serve more clients with fewer people.

AJ Zepeda joins Yuri to share how he went from small business accounting, big firms, and a COO role to co-founding Maverick CPA, a three-partner firm based in East Texas.

AJ explains why he wanted the freedom to make decisions without red tape, how his partners keep him from implementing too many tools too fast, and why Maverick started on budget-friendly software before moving to Karbon once cash flow and team size made sense.

They also break down Maverick’s full tech stack, including Karbon, StanfordTax, Ping, Quo, ProConnect, Anchor, Notion, Slack, Make, and Claude. AJ shares how these tools connect so that documents, phone calls, meeting notes, and workflow updates move through the firm with little manual effort.

The conversation also explores why AJ would rather build a $2–3 million firm than a massive one, his plans to niche into construction and law firms, and how he’s using podcasting and content as AJ the Accountant to help other firm owners grow.

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - Introduction and AJ’s background

2:26 - Living in East Texas and local insights

3:12 - AJ’s experience at big and small firms

4:10 - Deciding to start Maverick CPA

5:30 - Initial tech stack and budget considerations

8:07 - Tech choices at startup and scaling

11:18 - Switching from initial to more advanced tools

12:00 - Deep dive into StanfordTax and Karbon integration

14:02 - Using Ping and Quo for communication and phone

16:09 - Integrating phone calls and meeting notes

19:25 - Full tech stack overview and automation

21:40 - Workflow management and client tracking

23:03 - ProConnect and client process automation

25:16 - Tech frustrations and future improvements

28:50 - Firm growth goals and scaling strategy

32:10 - Marketing, niching, and podcasting

37:08 - AJ’s personal brand and social media

39:41 - Closing thoughts and future plans

SPONSOR

Today's episode sponsor is Ping Assistant, a note taker made for accountants, so go check them out here:

https://www.pingassistant.com/

ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH

Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.

Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.

CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/

Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/

CONNECT WITH AJ ZEPEDA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajtheaccountant/

Website: AJaccountant.com